King Charles’s 50p coin with this new picture is crowned ‘UK’s rarest’ in major first
The highly collectable 2009 Kew Gardens 50p has been booted off the top spot for the first time 15 years.
A 50p coin bearing King Charles’s portrait has been officially crowned as the UK’s rarest coin in circulation, less than a year after it was released.
The coin, dubbed “the nation’s most collectable coin”, depicts the Atlantic Salmon and was first released at the end of 2023.
It marks a significant shift for coin collectors, as the Atlantic Salmon knocks the 2009 Kew Gardens 50p off the top spot for the first time in 15 years, the Royal Mint has confirmed in its 2023 mintage figures for UK coins in circulation.
Just 200,000 of the Atlantic Salmon 50ps have been released to UK banks and post offices, 10,000 less than the 2009 Kew Gardens coin.
Coins depicting the King’s portrait first entered circulation in December 2022, with new designs across all denominations from the 1p to £2.
Each design highlights the 75-year-old monarch’s “passion for conservation and the natural world”, featuring wildlife such as the hazel dormouse and bees, the Royal Mint said.
Described by the Royal Mint as “the nation’s most collectable coin”, the 50p has seen over 100 different designs appear on its reverse since its introduction.
This includes special designs to mark milestones such as the King’s Coronation, the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, and the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
Out of the 10 rarest 50ps in circulation, six are related to the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games, with Peter Rabbit and Flopsy Bunny coins from 2018 both also making the list.
